Number 10 Downing Street said on Monday evening that the UK would now send £3 billion in military support to Ukraine this year, an increase of £500 million on previously announced funds. The additional money will be spent on purchasing much-needed ammunition and air defense systems for Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support – and they need it now,” Sunak said. “The UK will always play its role at the forefront of European security. »
Sunak would certainly bristle at any suggestion from Berlin that Britain is not doing its part.
The UK has long been Europe’s leading military power, while Germany’s armed forces were in a precarious state before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – and remain so, despite increased spending.
“Unfortunately, I have to say that the Bundeswehr still has too little of everything,” Eva Högl, Germany’s parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, said last month. “There is a lack of ammunition, spare parts and radio equipment. There is still a shortage of tanks, ships and planes.”
A British official said any overt pressure from Scholz would “raise eyebrows” in London, observing that while many in Westminster accept the need to boost British defense investment, the Germans “need to pull up their socks too.”
Politico
